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This is almost an unintentional classic Western. The story is not all that complicated, it's one of old friendship, down-on-their-luck old guys, how people change when greed comes into play and how the heart's truth can lead to a good outcome. But it's the charming and engaging way Sam Peckinpah presents this old story with the help of two aging heroes of the West, Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea, that make this a true classic. Enjoyed this one very much!

Peckinpah's second feature film, it was the one that gained him directorial notoriety. Within the Western genre and its evolution in the latter half of the 20th Century, Ride the High Country is in the cross-over between the classic John Ford Western and the revisionist sparked by the import of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy with Clint Eastwood, the flawed anti-hero with no name. It's was also made before Peckinpah's self-destructive drug abuse and behavior ruined his reputation in Hollywood. Here we have a clean, early Peckinpah movie showing his skill and genius in telling a story.